Futuristic flying bike video

Published: 22 December 2008

An American company plans to take this SkyBike from prototype to reality by 2010. Designed by California-based Samson Motorworks, the SkyBike will have retractable wings and dual controls which means it can be ridden on the roads or flown from any airfield.

It is currently in prototype stage, and wind tunnel testing is due to begin on a scale-model of the bike very soon.

“We are homing in on the Holy Grail for vehicles,” said inventor Sam Bousfield who was working on a supersonic propeller aircraft when the idea for the SkyBike came to him.

“We really need to get more transportation in to the air and off the ground,” he said. “At first I thought I could bolt on wings to a typical motorcycle, and worked out how to do that, but the thought of flying at more than 100mph hanging out in the ‘breeze’ did not appeal to me. Landing on two wheels would be difficult also.”

After a year of pondering he came up with the design you see here – a three wheel enclosed motorbike.